Washington: A former Republican congressman and one-time close friend of Secretary of State Marco Rubio was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for secretly lobbying the US government on behalf of Venezuela, media reported.
David Rivera was convicted in May by a federal jury in Miami of conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent and other charges stemming from a $50 million contract linked to Venezuela's state oil company.
Prosecutors said Rivera was hired during US President Donald Trump's first term by the government of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro to use his Republican contacts to persuade Washington to soften its policy toward Caracas.
They alleged that Rivera persuaded then-foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez -- now Venezuela's interim president -- to award him the lucrative lobbying contract paid for by energy giant PDVSA.
US District Judge Melissa Damian imposed the sentence after a hearing that lasted more than four hours, according to The Washington Post, which reported that Rivera intends to appeal and has applied for a presidential pardon.
Rivera's relationship with Rubio became a prominent feature of the case.
America's top diplomat testified at the trial in March that Rivera had once been a "close friend" and that the two shared an apartment when they were Florida lawmakers.
Rivera met with Rubio, then a US senator, twice in 2017 to discuss Venezuela's political future.
Rubio told jurors he knew nothing at the time about Rivera's alleged contract with Venezuelan officials and said he would have acted differently had he known.
"It would have been shocking to me," said Rubio, who has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
According to US media reports, Rivera argued that his consulting work concerned efforts to bring US oil giant ExxonMobil back to Venezuela and that his political activity was intended to remove Maduro rather than assist his government.
Rivera separately faces a federal case in Washington involving allegations that he received more than $5.5 million to lobby on behalf of a Venezuelan businessman targeted by US sanctions.
